Dr. Tarek Shahbandar
Anesthesiology
Merrillville, IN
23 years experience male
Locations
Pain Physicians of Indiana
Merrillville, IN
Phone
Practice website
Insurances accepted
BCS Insurance Company
CIGNA Health Care
UMR
United HealthCare Insurance Company
Medicare
Zurich North America
Office
Merrillville, IN
About
Bio
Residency at Cleveland Clinic
Fellowship at Cleveland Clinic
Board certified in Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine
Taught at University of Illinois as an assistant professor
Founder of pain physicians of Indiana
www.pp-in.com
SpecialtiesDoctors may have more than one area of specialty interest. Board certification in a specialty area means the doctor has completed formal training and has practice experience in that specialty, and has passed the certification examination from the corresponding accredited medical specialty board.
Doctors may have more than one area of specialty interest. Board certification in a specialty area means the doctor has completed formal training and has practice experience in that specialty, and has passed the certification examination from the corresponding accredited medical specialty board.
Anesthesiology
Pain Management
Licenses
United States: Indiana
Languages spoken
Arabic
Doctor Q&A
204 Answers
130 Agrees
The number of answers this doctor has agreed with.
A 19-year-old female asked:
Dr. Tarek Shahbandaranswered
Anesthesiology 23 years experience
Heart rate: Your heart rate would increase if you feel pain or if you awaken during surgery. A bis monitor can help monitor for consciousness as well. The surge... Read More
4.7k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 49-year-old member asked:
Dr. Tarek Shahbandaranswered
Anesthesiology 23 years experience
Lumbar strain: Most likely the cause of back pain when there is nothing found on imaging is lumbar strain. If pain persists, there could be other causes that may no... Read More
3.7k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 22-year-old female asked:
Dr. Tarek Shahbandaranswered
Anesthesiology 23 years experience
Likely no: Back pain is most likely from lumbar strain. Get evaluated.
4.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 41-year-old member asked:
Dr. Tarek Shahbandaranswered
Anesthesiology 23 years experience
No..: As long as it is done for appropriate reasons, anesthesia can be done multiples of times and work every time.
4.9k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 23-year-old female asked:
Dr. Tarek Shahbandaranswered
Anesthesiology 23 years experience
Variable: Sympathetic block gives variable amount of relief. For sympathetic mediated pain i've seen relief in my patients for a month. For blood flow problem... Read More
3.7k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 37-year-old female asked:
Dr. Tarek Shahbandaranswered
Anesthesiology 23 years experience
Go to er: If you are having chest discomfort with new murmur, you should go to the ER now.
3.9k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 57-year-old female asked:
Dr. Tarek Shahbandaranswered
Anesthesiology 23 years experience
Yes and yes: We do use various self reporting pain scales like 1 - 10 to measure pain even though the diffuse pain from fibromyalgia may be vague and hard to put a... Read More
3.7k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 21-year-old member asked:
Dr. Tarek Shahbandaranswered
Anesthesiology 23 years experience
Immune system: Stress can weaken the immune system which can increase chance of getting shingles. ...So yes it's possible. Get treatment soon. Good luck.
5.2k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 37-year-old member asked:
Dr. Tarek Shahbandaranswered
Anesthesiology 23 years experience
Burning pain: Burning pain in the limb. Very sensitive pain to even ligh touch. Pain pattern does not follow a dermatome pattern. Color changes. Osteoperosis. Sw... Read More
5.2k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 47-year-old member asked:
Dr. Tarek Shahbandaranswered
Anesthesiology 23 years experience
Depends: It depends on cause of back pain. If you have pain from lumbar facet joints, the epidural will have almost no effect on your back pain. If the pain ... Read More
5.2k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 41-year-old member asked:
Dr. Tarek Shahbandaranswered
Anesthesiology 23 years experience
Headache: Epidural placed too deeply can cause dural puncture and this may lead to a headache. If a catheter is placed in this space and local anesthetic is gi... Read More
4.7k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 36-year-old member asked:
Dr. Tarek Shahbandaranswered
Anesthesiology 23 years experience
Steroid: Too much steroid can cause osteoporosis no matter where it is placed. Oral, IV or epidural steroid may increase chance of osteoporosis. The amount o... Read More
5.2k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 39-year-old member asked:
Dr. Tarek Shahbandaranswered
Anesthesiology 23 years experience
MILD: There are many new procedures that help different conditions that cause pain. It's most important to first have an accurate diagnosis of what is caus... Read More
4.9k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 31-year-old member asked:
Dr. Tarek Shahbandaranswered
Anesthesiology 23 years experience
Stenosis or ddd: Pain that is worse when sitting may be from degenerated disks while pain worse when standing may be from spinal stenosis. You are young for these iss... Read More
3.7k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 35-year-old member asked:
Dr. Tarek Shahbandaranswered
Anesthesiology 23 years experience
Inflammation : Arachnoiditis is inflammation of one of the layers of meninges that surround the spine and or brain. Few patients develop this condition after proced... Read More
5.3k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 29-year-old female asked:
Dr. Tarek Shahbandaranswered
Anesthesiology 23 years experience
Yes: They are both hydrocodone with acetaminophen.
5.3k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 49-year-old member asked:
Dr. Tarek Shahbandaranswered
Anesthesiology 23 years experience
With benzo: Fentanyl is usually given with a benzodiazepines like versed for sedation and the benzo usually causes the amnesia. Fentanyl by itself does not cause... Read More
5.3k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 55-year-old female asked:
Dr. Tarek Shahbandaranswered
Anesthesiology 23 years experience
Aquatherapy: Some of my patients with arachnoiditis have benefited from aqua therapy / swimming. Ask your doctor if this activity would be beneficial for you.
5.3k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 30-year-old member asked:
Dr. Tarek Shahbandaranswered
Anesthesiology 23 years experience
Usually nothing: Most physicians who perform epidurals anchor the needle in a way that if the patient moves, the needle moves with the patient. For a midline epidura... Read More
5.2k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 54-year-old female asked:
Dr. Tarek Shahbandaranswered
Anesthesiology 23 years experience
Allergy test: Allergy testing is a good idea but that does not determine whether she needs spine surgery. She should discuss spine surgery options with her doctor... Read More
5.2k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 19-year-old female asked:
Dr. Tarek Shahbandaranswered
Anesthesiology 23 years experience
Depends: Usually you do not stay tired that long after general anesthesia. It would depend on how long you had anesthetic, type of case, type of anesthesia, a... Read More
5.3k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 38-year-old member asked:
Dr. Tarek Shahbandaranswered
Anesthesiology 23 years experience
Local anesthetic : Your doctor may have used local anesthetic which lasts up to 12 hours. Once the local anesthetic affect stops, you may feel the pain of the extractio... Read More
5.3k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 20-year-old male asked:
Dr. Tarek Shahbandaranswered
Anesthesiology 23 years experience
See a doc: Most common cause of back pain is lumbar strain which goes away on its own. If pain is very severe, you should see your doctor. If you have leg weak... Read More
5.3k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 18-year-old male asked:
Dr. Tarek Shahbandaranswered
Anesthesiology 23 years experience
Radicular pain: If you had an epidural steroid injection, most likely it was for a lumbar disk herniation that caused radiating pain. Sometimes, after an epidural, y... Read More
5.3k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 30-year-old female asked:
Dr. Tarek Shahbandaranswered
Anesthesiology 23 years experience
Non opioids: Pain specialists can treat pain in 100's of ways without using opioids or narcotics actually. The better trained and educated the pain specialist, th... Read More
5.3k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 47-year-old female asked:
Dr. Tarek Shahbandaranswered
Anesthesiology 23 years experience
Side effect: Rash could be side effect of one of the meds. Try to remember time frame of when rash started and if it corresponded to starting one of these meds (l... Read More
5.3k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 49-year-old member asked:
Dr. Tarek Shahbandaranswered
Anesthesiology 23 years experience
Question cut off: Your question cut off but if you had epidurals, physical therapy, and meds and you are still suffering, you can get a surgical opinion. Ask your docto... Read More
5.2k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 36-year-old female asked:
Dr. Tarek Shahbandaranswered
Anesthesiology 23 years experience
See detox specialist: He can try to wean himself off the meds slowly ; come down one pill per day.... Otherwise see a detoxification specialist. Good luck.
5.3k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 20-year-old female asked:
Dr. Tarek Shahbandaranswered
Anesthesiology 23 years experience
Many: Usually you start with sedation like versed. Once in the or, you would receive an induction agent to rapidly sleep like propofol. You may then recei... Read More
5.2k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A female asked:
Dr. Tarek Shahbandaranswered
Anesthesiology 23 years experience
Don't : Don't take the pill from your friend. See a doctor or you may get yourself in trouble. Good luck.
4.9k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 52-year-old male asked:
Dr. Tarek Shahbandaranswered
Anesthesiology 23 years experience
Lumbar: This type of pain could be from a back strain, disk herniation or a number of other possibilities. A good musculoskeletal physical exam and evaluatio... Read More
5.3k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 27-year-old male asked:
Dr. Tarek Shahbandaranswered
Anesthesiology 23 years experience
Pleurisy: One possible cause of upper back pain with difficulty breathing could be pleurisy. You should get this examined, though, as it is abnormal to have "b... Read More
5.3k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 23-year-old female asked:
Dr. Tarek Shahbandaranswered
Anesthesiology 23 years experience
Methadone is narcoti: Methadone is actually a strong opioid narcotic. It is a very strong pain killer. It's used also to treat heroine addiction, but that requires a spec... Read More
5.3k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 47-year-old member asked:
Dr. Tarek Shahbandaranswered
Anesthesiology 23 years experience
Yes: Unless you have an allergy it should be fine to take Amoxicillin and hydrocodone together.
5.2k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 56-year-old female asked:
Dr. Tarek Shahbandaranswered
Anesthesiology 23 years experience
Disk herniation: One possible cause of your symptoms is a lumbar disk herniation. Get evaluated by a medical professional and i hope you feel better soon.
5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 31-year-old member asked:
Dr. Tarek Shahbandaranswered
Anesthesiology 23 years experience
Its possible: Anything is possible. Visceral pain from air in the bowel can be referred to the back.
4.9k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 27-year-old female asked:
Dr. Tarek Shahbandaranswered
Anesthesiology 23 years experience
More than one cause: You may have another cause of your back pain like lumbar strain... Follow up with your doctor to make sure there is no more infection still and good l... Read More
5.1k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 20-year-old female asked:
Dr. Tarek Shahbandaranswered
Anesthesiology 23 years experience
Yes: It's better to stay on schedule if possible.
5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 48-year-old member asked:
Dr. Tarek Shahbandaranswered
Anesthesiology 23 years experience
Yes: Severe pain can increase heart rate and blood pressure.
5.1k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 42-year-old member asked:
Dr. Tarek Shahbandaranswered
Anesthesiology 23 years experience
Yes: The anesthetic medicine will work with or without sleep the night before the scheduled surgery. Good luck.
4.9k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 32-year-old member asked:
Dr. Tarek Shahbandaranswered
Anesthesiology 23 years experience
Agree too early but: ...There are a 100 things to consider before stem cell therapy.
4.4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 20-year-old female asked:
Dr. Tarek Shahbandaranswered
Anesthesiology 23 years experience
May be referred: Your pain may be from the shoulder joint or from the muscles and soft tissue around your back or scapula. There is a possibility the pain is referred... Read More
3.7k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 16-year-old female asked:
Dr. Tarek Shahbandaranswered
Anesthesiology 23 years experience
Take...: Take good posture and appropriate exercise. Get a proper evaluation to see what is the cause of your back pain. Avoid opioids that are addicting if ... Read More
5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 20-year-old male asked:
Dr. Tarek Shahbandaranswered
Anesthesiology 23 years experience
What happened: What happened before you had this sensation. Did you fall on the back if your head? Did this feeling of loss of sensation come out of the blue? You... Read More
4.8k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 44-year-old member asked:
Dr. Tarek Shahbandaranswered
Anesthesiology 23 years experience
Med school: Anesthesiologist go through medical school and then do at least four more years of training to finish an internship and residency. Nurse anesthetists... Read More
4.9k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 38-year-old member asked:
Dr. Tarek Shahbandaranswered
Anesthesiology 23 years experience
Leads to: Crps can cause worsening osteoporosis. The decreased bone density is usually seen at the limb effected by crps / rsd.
5.3k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 25-year-old female asked:
Dr. Tarek Shahbandaranswered
Anesthesiology 23 years experience
Local: Often times a local anesthetic is added to the steroid injection which can cause some motor (muscle) weakness and sense of numbness usually bellow the... Read More
5.2k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 22-year-old female asked:
Dr. Tarek Shahbandaranswered
Anesthesiology 23 years experience
5.3k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 43-year-old member asked:
Dr. Tarek Shahbandaranswered
Anesthesiology 23 years experience
General: Appendectomy is typically done under general anesthetic. In rare or in emergency situations, local anesthetic technique can be used with an experienc... Read More
5.3k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 38-year-old male asked:
Dr. Tarek Shahbandaranswered
Anesthesiology 23 years experience
Disk: There is a good chance you may have a disc herniation. Try not to lift heavy objects especially from the floor. You can try tylenol (acetaminophen) ... Read More
5.2k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
90,000 U.S. doctors in 147 specialties are here to answer your questions, provide medical advice, write prescriptions, and more.
TestimonialsRecommendations and Thank you notes are endorsements given from patients or other doctors.
Recommendations and Thank you notes are endorsements given from patients or other doctors.
4
Recommendations
305
Thank you notes
Feb 18, 2013
Excellent outcomes treating patients with acute herpes Zoster of the face by doing a stellate ganglion block. Saves these patients a lot of pain and recovery time.
Feb 21, 2013
Consider this well trained physician to be your physician! You'll be hard pressed to find one like him.
HealthTap member
Mar 30, 2015
Dr. Shahbandar is an amazing doctor! #nationaldoctorsday2015 #virtualflower1
HealthTap member
Thank you, your answer was very helpful! Thank you very much for your answer and for being a part of this service. It's so helpful and saves me from taking up dr time w/ a Q visit.
HealthTap member
Thanks for your quick reply! the pain has started to reduced in these 2 days..however when he stays in 1 position (while he sits or sleeps the pain will comes again..)
HealthTap member
We used to use isobaric Bupivaca 0.125% for postoperative analgesia (with syringe pump for about 12 hours). What is your typical opioid use?
Education & Training
Medical/Graduate school
MEDICAL COLLEGE OF WISCONSIN
Graduated 1999MD
Medical/Graduate school
Medical College of Wisconsin, WI
Graduated 1999MD
Residency
CLEVELAND CLINIC
Awards
Top Doctor, First Place, Gary, IN - Winter
2013
Most Influential, Second Place, Gary, IN - Winter
2013
Thought Leader, First Place, Gary, IN - Winter
2013
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